Red Ram Redux

Here's a story that could only have happened in Oshkosh...

Drew Roth, the head brewer at Fox River Brewing, found those cards while he was sifting through the attic of his garage. He got in touch with me and asked if I'd ever heard of the Red Ram. I had. Just a couple of days earlier, I also had been sifting around down in a rabbit hole that was connected to the Red Ram tavern. I'll share what I found there in a moment.

In the meantime, Drew decided that Red Ram would be a good name for the bock beer he had recently brewed. That beer was released at Fox River this afternoon. We have a long history with bock beer in Oshkosh and this one fits beautifully into that lineage. It's an excellent beer. The Red Ram lives again.

Life at 103 High
The Red Ram was located at 103 High Avenue in a building that went up in 1909. Originally, it was the home of Castle-Pierce Printing.

Castle-Pierce Printing in the early 1920s.

Castle-Pierce moved out of there in 1965. The fun begins. The first tavern license for 103 High was taken in 1968 by Charles Green, an insurance agent living in Neenah. Initially, the City of Oshkosh was less than eager to see Green go in there. He was co-owner of an infamous strip club named the Speak Easy on Omro Road. City officials had concerns about what Green might attempt with the old Castle-Pierce place. Would he have Helen from Hurley whirling on High?

Helen from Hurley appearing at the Speak Easy in February 1968.
When not performing, she was known as Mrs. Helen McKellip, aged 28 of Menasha.

Helen was a no-show. In fact, nothing much happened at 103 High until 1969 when plans for The Red Ram began to materialize. The man behind that plan was Green Bay Packer legend Jerry "The Zipper" Kramer.

The freshly retired Kramer was launching a chain of Red Ram bars and restaurants. There were Kramer-backed Red Rams in Chicago, in Denver, in Ames, Iowa... and as of April 1970, there was a Red Ram at 103 High in Oshkosh. It became the 15th Red Ram in the nation.

Outside the Red Ram, March 1970.

The Red Ram's Rathskeller had an alternate entrance through an underground areaway at the corner of Market and High. That areaway dates back to at least 1886. It's still there and one of the last of its kind in Oshkosh. You can see it in the picture below. Look to the left for the steps leading down.

103 High, where the Red Ram was located, is the Brown building on the right.

The Red Ram kicked the bucket the year after it opened. Out went the Ram and in crawled The Universal Turtle.

November, 1971.

The Turtle was the brainchild of John Hall, who had grown up in Oshkosh. His family had been in the hospitality business for years. John Hall's mother, Jeanne Hall, was the manager of the Athearn Hotel in Oshkosh in the 1950s. 

Here's a bit of a detour, but I like this next picture too much not to share it. The photo below shows Jeanne Hall in 1956 behind the wheel of the new Packard Caribbean convertible she was awarded by Server Magazine for her work at the Athearn.

OK, back to the Turtle Club. It was modeled after Turtles in Los Angeles and Seattle. In addition to the bar, the Oshkosh Turtle featured live entertainment. Among the early attractions were Johnny Diamond and his "fire" show; and Miss Nude Universe 1970, Sandi Shane.

The Turtle laid an egg. It closed in 1972. Then came the Paddock Club, which also promptly failed. Finally, there arrived a bar and restaurant with some staying power. A lot of Oshkoshers can recall Baxter's Beef & Pizza Company. Baxter's opened in January 1975.

1977.

The bar at Baxter’s. Photo courtesy of Dan Radig.

April, 1984.

Baxter's bit the dust in 1984. Its failure inspired another round of unsuccessful bars and restaurants at 103 High. There was Carlos Giovanni's Restaurant, Bravo's Bar & Restaurant, Steve's On High... with each passing year the place looked less inviting. The building sat vacant at the start of the 1990s.

The fun was done. In 1992, David Sparr's law office went in. Sparr and company have been there ever since.

103 High Ave.

Inside 103 High.

The building at 103 High is now part of the North Main Street Historic District and is listed on the Wisconsin Register of Historic Places. That’s fine, but in Oshkosh we have another way to memorialize these things. It comes full circle in a glass of beer. Prost to the Red Ram.

Red Ram Copper Bock at Fox River Brewing, Oshkosh.